This week sees the pros head to Arizona for the PGA Tour’s annual frat party, the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Last year’s event saw a ban on alcohol sales as the crowds got a bit over-excited, with the event descending into what one writer called “a black hole of feral manhood.” Golf’s relationship with booze is nothing new, although the days when it was the players on tour who led the charge are long gone. At the amateur level, however, a bit of liquid swing oil is still very much part of the culture – here are five of our favourites.
Guinness
As the classic pre or post-round pint, Guinness is the staple drink in clubhouses up and down the land. Like the Wetherspoons at an airport, the usual rules of drinking decorum seem not to apply in a golf club, where a pint of Guinness is a perfectly respectable way to wash down your bacon roll or full English.
Kummel
No-one seems sure why a sickly-sweet Dutch liquor infused with carraway seeds and aniseed is such a fixture at Britain’s most traditional golf clubs. It’s usually served refrigerated or even frozen, which helps disguise a flavour which can politely be described as ‘disgusting’. I’m not sure anyone actually enjoys it, but as a post-prandial ritual before heading out for an afternoon round, it’s an integral part of a great day on the links.
Shovril
After nine holes battling the wind and the cold on the links of the Kent Coast, the half-way hut appears through the rain like an oasis, and you fall through the door in search of much-needed sustenance. Then you face a quandary – it’s cold, so you need a hot drink. But you’ve just made back-to-back double bogeys, so you also need a stiff drink. Never fear, the members at Royal St George’s or Deal are years ahead of you – just order a Shorvil: a cup of hot Bovril with a shot of sherry. (Borvil, for the benefit of our American readers, is “a thick, salty, beef extract paste that’s high in protein and can be used as a spread, hot drink or stock substitute.” Just trust us.)
Tranfusion
American golf gets a bad rap on these shores, being synonymous with over-watered courses, over-priced green fees and overweight golfers driving around in buggies. That may not be entirely fair, and if we’re going to re-build the reputation of our transatlantic friends, we’d suggest that the Transfusion is a good place to start. A simple recipe of vodka mixed with grape juice, ginger ale and lime juice served over plenty of ice, it’s instantly refreshing and deceptively potent. Many clubs make fresh Transfusions and put them in cans on-demand – an innovation that we would dearly love to see over here.
Lager Top
Fancy cocktails and foreign liquors are all very well, but this list would not be complete without acknowledging the humble lager top. A pint of chilled premium lager – San Miguel or Peroni rather than your bog-standard Carlsberg – with a generous two fingers of lemonade from the tap. Enjoy the first while you tot up the scorecard, a second when you try to justify that four-putt on 16, and a third sets you up for life after golf.
Your friends at Sounder remind you that drinking to excess is neither big nor clever, and urge you to enjoy these drinks responsibly.
